Kudi Haryane Val Di Movie Review : A superhit cross-cultural drama of Punjabi and Haryanvi on screen

STORY: Shivjot hails from a wrestling family in Punjab while Neelam is born in a noted wrestling family of Haryana. However, Shivjot has no interest in pursuing wrestling and contrarily, Neelam is as passionate about the sport as her father, Mann Singh Phogat and late brother, Vinod. When a dreamy Shivjot sets his eyes on Neelam in a chance encounter, he is smitten and follows her to her village under the guise of a wrestling coach. The two fall in love but the villains, Neelam's fiancé, a strong wrestler Mahavir, and her father's archrival, Sheeshpal, who also runs a wrestling arena, must first be defeated in the akhara.

REVIEW: Kudi Haryane Val Di is backdropped on Haryana and Punjab's oldest sporting love, that of wrestling. Shivjot (Ammy Virk) is a wasted gene of a wrestler, as his parents often call him, as she shuns the sport where his father and grandfather have excelled since years. Instead, Shivjot is a romantic at heart and wanders dreamily in search of love. When he meets Neelam (Sonam Bajwa), daughter of Mann Singh Phogat (Yashpal Sharma), who runs a akhara in Haryana, he is enamoured and decides to woo her, assuming the garb of a wrestling coach. The story sticks to a liner line in reaching its logical conclusion, without any extra fluff or frills of trying to stuff jokes, which is often a leading distraction from storylines in Punjabi films. While this film is also a comedy, the humour is situational and also emerges from the conflict of the two cultures and their ethics.
Sonam has done a commendable job in portraying the staunch Haryanvi girl who is dedicated to her father and his passion for wrestling. Her dialect is typical to the state's rural landscape and her mannerisms and characterisation are as close to a real wrestling aspirant from the state. Sonam has carried a different culture quite seamlessly on her dainty shoulders on-screen, with the right pauses and drag of colloquial Haryanvi language.
Though Ammy may not be far from his previous characters in this film too, as you watch him on screen, you notice the subtle maturity the actor has evolved into his persona, a fact that he also brings to the narrative of a Punjabi boy defying his ancestral legacy of the sport. He is still funny, he tickles and cracks cultural jokes to present himself as the fool, however, as Shivjot, Ammy has layered the comic fool with grounded meaning.
The film's director must be credited with highlighting the age-old rivalries between akharas, the pride and ego ruffles that go fatally wrong while etching each character, especially from Haryana since that is a new introduction into Punjabi films.
Characters played by Haryanvi veteran actor Yashpal Sharma, Punjab's ace actor Yograj Singh and Haryana's
Ajay Hooda, among others, deserve special applause for their realistic, yet robust performances.
The music is soothing, and cinematography brings alive the dusty reality of akharas and hamlets of Haryana.
Besides being the first to marry Haryana and Punjab on-screen, Kudi Haryane Val Di is also one of the few films where comedy is not the mainstay, but entertainment is.